New Portfolio of Wines from South Africa

Target To Have Dedicated Wine & Beer Boutiques

By Leslie Gevirtz

Chris Mullineux, Analjit Singh and Andrea Mullineux

Winemaking duo Chris and Andrea Mullineux, together with partner Analjit Singh, announced a new portfolio of wines called Leeu Passant – fine wines inspired by the distinct culture, terroir, history and tastes of the Cape.

These multi-regional wines, made mainly from old vineyards, are crafted at the Leeu Passant cellar of Mullineux & Leeu Family Wines, based on Leeu Estates in Franschhoek, South Africa, about 50 miles due east of Cape Town.

The 2015 Leeu Passant Dry Red, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Cinsault, is expected to retail for about $160 a bottle, while both the 2015 Leeu Passant Stellenbosch Chardonnay and the 2015 Leeu Passant Elandskloof Chardonnay have a suggested retail price of about $100 a bottle, according to the importer, Kysela Pere Et Fils, Ltd. The wines are expected to go on sale in April.

Wine Enthusiast named Andrea Mullineux its 2016 Wine Star, “Winemaker of the Year.”

Target To Open Dedicated Wine and Beer Boutiques

Target, the second-largest U.S. discount retailer after Wal-Mart, plans to test a new way of selling wine and beer when it opens its first in a series of redesigned stores this fall in a Houston suburb.

“For time-starved guests,” Target said in a press release, there will be a second entrance to the 124,000-square foot store in Richmond, Texas that “will offer easy access to grocery, a Wine & Beer shop, self-checkout lanes and a dedicated Order Pickup counter within steps from each other.”

Target’s Jeff Burt

Including wine and beer in the shops where laws allow, is a way to offer “more elevated product presentations and a number of time-saving features,” said Target CEO Brian Cornell, adding the company expects to invest billions of dollars over the next three years redesigning 500 stores nationwide.

The Minneapolis-based retailer also named former Kroger Co. executive Jeff Burt as senior vice president, grocery, fresh food and beverage, to oversee the rollout. “There is an opportunity to harness the power of the Target brand to more clearly cater to what consumers want when they’re shopping for food and beverage,” said Burt.

An award-winning journalist, Gevirtz spent more than 20 years covering disasters—natural, political, and financial—before becoming Reuters’ wine correspondent; a beat that guaranteed her colleagues were always glad to see her.